Beginners Guide
So you're new to Tabula Rasa and wandering around in confusion? Don't worry, the Tabula Rasa Wiki will show the the ropes and lead you through the first few steps of installation, setup, and gameplay. Software installation Before you will be able to participate in the beta test of Tabula Rasa, you will need to download and install the game client. Download and run the Tabula Rasa Installer The Tabula Rasa installer is a small client downloader program available from the Tabula Rasa FTP site (ftp.playtr.com) that will automatically download and install the correct version of the client. The client is approximately 3GB in size and will typically take several hours to download. It is important to ensure that there is enough space on the drive to which the client is downloaded. Other options available in the downloader are available by clicking the Options button. Options include the ability to run the installer automatically when the download is complete, finish the download at a later time, configuring proxy server settings, and viewing the Tabula Rasa web site. If you keep the default setting of "Run This Program When Done" in the Options menu, the installer will automatically install Tabula Rasa upon completion of the download. If the option is turned off, you will need to run the downloaded client installation file manually from the "Save to" location specified in the initial download screen. Installing Tabula Rasa and the PlayNC Launcher Once the client download is complete, if the "Run This Program When Done" option remains selected, the client installation program will automatically be launched. If it is not, run the downloaded install_tabula_rasa_''version''.exe file manually. This will extract the CAB files to your temporary files folder. Important Note: If you do not have sufficient disk space in your temporary files folder, the setup will fail. Remember, over 3GB is required for the installation. If you do not have this much space on the filesystem that holds temporary files, either change the location of the temporary files folder in your Windows environment variables or use an extraction tool such as the free and open source tool 7-zip. After extraction, the setup will run automatically. Follow the on-screen instructions. Important Note: When prompted to chose a language, chose English. Other languages are not yet functional in in the beta test version of the client and will cause the game to crash. It is recommended to choose "Express setup". You must accept the User Agreement to proceed with installation. After Tabula Rasa has been installed, the PlayNC Launcher will be installed automatically. Choose an installation destination folder and click "Next". Patching Every time Tabula Rasa is launched, the launcher will automatically check with the game server to see if there is an updated version of the client available. If there is, the updates will be downloaded and automatically installed before the game starts. Alternatively, the PlayNC Launcher may be run as a background task that appears in the system tray. The launcher contains an option to automatically download and install updates while the computer is idle. Note that the PlayNC Launcher will update all NCsoft games when automatic updates are enabled. Account activation Play NC master account In order to be able to activate your account for Tabula Rasa, you must first set up a master account at PlayNC, the internet gaming portal of NCsoft, or, if you already have an account from other NCsoft games like Lineage II, Guild Wars or City of Heroes, log into it. To do so, go to http://www.plaync.com and click the "Account" link in the menu on the left. Alternatively, enter this url manualy or simply click it: https://secure.plaync.com/cgi-bin/plaync_login.pl?language=en-gb If you don't have an account yet, click the "Create Account" button on the right. After you have set up your master account, or if you already had an account before, log into it by entering your account name and password on the left. Tabula Rasa account After you've logged into your master account you may set up your Tabula Rasa account by clicking the "Use a serial code" link in the menu on the left. Enter the serial code that you received from NCsoft via email. It is a "standard PlayNC code (20 digits)". Game setup Login Open the PlayNC launcher and select Tabula Rasa from the list of games, after that just press Play Now to start, it wi Once the videos have played you will be presented with the Code of Conduct (Non Disclosure Agreement for betaperiod) and End User License Agreement(EULA) on wich you have to read and accept both and will then be brought to a loginscreen where you type in the username and password that you choose when creating the account, after this you press Login and it will bring you to the character creation process explained further on in this section. There is an option to save your username, that is only recomended if you are playing on your own computer. Character creation During character creation you will choose a first name and a last name. Be carefull here, as your last name will be you global name, and used with all your characters you make on this account from the first character to the last one. So, choose your last name wisely. Also, you will have a few options for changing the following: * Male/Female * Character Size (from small to large) * Face and what type of face wear you want if any. * Hair style * Armor types to start out with for Torso, Hands. Legs, and Feet For all these option you can choose various colors or just randomize the whole character including your names. *'Important beta information': When logging in on a character, the game might seem frozen on the "Acquiring Data" loading screen. This is not an issue with the client or your computer. It is due to a world-server (the server that hosts the map data) crash and will have to be repaired by the TaRa staff themselves. You can always create a new character using a different instance of the world server if you still wish to play the game. Game options Game Options are as Follows: * Video * Audio * Game (which controls various in-game functions) * Key Bindings (aka Key Mapping) Gameplay Chat Commands and Emotes Mouse Modes Your mouse performs two main functions: Moving your targeting reticle (crosshairs) around, and moving a standard pointer around your UI. Until I find more official names for those modes I'll call them "aiming mode" and "pointer mode". If you have any windows open (log entries, backpack, etc) or if you have your UI tree visible (from holding down CTRL) you'll be in pointer mode. Otherwise, you'll be in aiming mode. Controls Key bindings Basic Controls and Keyboard Defaults Movement W - Forward A - Left S - Backward D - Right W + A - Forward Left W + D - Forward Right S + A - Backward Left S + D - Backward Z - toggle walk/run Space - Jump Num Lock - Auto-Run UI F - Use CTRL - Hold for Radial Menu Q - Cycles weapon drawer E - Cycles ability drawer Enter - Chat Right Mouse - Equip item CTRL + Q - Quit V - Hold for Voice Chat Scroll Wheel - Camera Zoom Combat R - Reload Left-Mouse - Fire Weapon Right Mouse - Click and Hold to target ability. Release to fire. Tab - Lock-on Target C - Crouch 1-5/ - Switch Weapons 6-0 - Switch Abilities If you get stuck - type /stuck and wait 45 seconds. Tutorial ... to be added ... Tips Weapons & Fighting *Early on it is a good idea to use rifles and shotgun as they will give you the most damage per bullet. Even if you have access to machine gun type weapons the starter type weapons are still great until you can afford to use ammo without restrictions. Rifles are great for single target and shotguns for clusters of mobs. *Another combination which works for taking out early mobs with very little use of ammo is to use lightning on the mob and then rush it. Once you run up to it start using your melee attack which should take them down in 2-4 attacks. Following this tactic, most of the early mobs might not even get one attack on you except for any attacks it got before you hit them with your lightning. Works well for most mobs unless you're fighting some of the early named mobs from some of the quests. Cloning It's a good idea to clone your characters at tree segways if you think you might want to switch up trees without having to start a new characters. The mild inconvenience of logging out when you get to choose a class branch (5, 15, 30) pays off if you want to try something new! Grouping There are three ways into invite to a group one is the manual command /partyinvite (Name), clicking on a friend you added to your friends list or by using the cntrl button and using the player options there when standing next to the person you want to invite to your party. Manual Commands for Parties * /p message: Sends message to the party channel where everyone in the current party can see it. (Synonyms: party) * /party message: Sends message to the party channel where everyone in the current party can see it. (Synonyms: p'') * '/partydisband': * '/partyinvite''' playername: * /partykick playername: * /partyleave: * /pdisband: Friends List Currently your friends list will only contain the character you add to the list not the Global Username. In order to add someone to your friends list all you need to do is click your friends list to open it, add friend and insert only your friends last name. You do not use their full name or their first name. Clans Clans are a group of people who join together as a group under one name. As of right now there aren't many options for clans, however they are a good way to find people you are familiar with and like grouping with besides your friends menu. In order to form a clan you must have 10,000 credits in order to pay Clan Registrar Kolchak in Alia Das. After that just right click anyone in your friends list or use cntrl next to whomever you want to invite. There are currently only 4 ranks in a clan for you to edit and use at one time and only one clan leader at any given time. So, there can not ever be more than one clan leader. Everyone else in the clan can be promoted amongst the other 3 ranks as you see fit. Manual Commands for Clans * /clan message: Sends message to the clan chat channel where everyone in the clan can see it. (Synonyms: c'') * '/clandisband': Disband the clan. (Synonyms: ''disbandclan) * /claninvite playername: Invite playername to join the clan. * /clankick playername: Remove playername from the clan. * /clanleave: Leave the clan. Category:Guides Category:TaRapedia